I am beyond tired of mostly finding books that involve anything TikTok and „internet sensation“. They are almost never good and somehow always on display at bookstores and the kindle store. I’ve tried time and again and honestly they could pretty much all be the same book.
Where do you look for reads that aren’t a fast fashion equivalent?
by Sea-Actuary-8060
17 Comments
I just ask employees at the book store for recommendations. Like, “hey I just finished X and really liked it, do you have anything similar?”
There is this site https://www.whichbook.net/ here you can filter books according to your mood, character or plot or choose from a certain country. They give very unique suggestions that you probably won’t see anywhere or atleast on the booktok, goodreads popular etc.
Is there any other way than random google searches? I add adjectives to my search like weird, noir, bizarre etc. or use definitions like ‘books like Twin Peaks’. Just something I did recently and somewhat succesfully.
R/suggestmeabook has been really good for me
Talk to the librarians at your local library! It’s our speciality!
An app called good reads has sooo good recommendations and a lot of peoples opinions on it , I find every book I ever read there. Big recommendation!!
Just Google with interests of you and books you recently liked. Mix it up with some ideas. There should be some results…
I like to just walk to a random place in the library and I’ll grab anything that looks interesting. I usually will look up just to make sure it’s not halfway through a series but I don’t usually read the description or anything and I’ve found a lot of really good books that way.
Honestly, I just wander the isles of second hand stores and used book shops, looking for anything that calls out to me. For a dollar or two, I can take that kind of gamble on a book. Beyond that, I’ve picked up a sizable list from here through discourse about books I’ve read and hearing about what others have enjoyed within the same spectrum. If I come across those I’ll pick them up to, but for now, finding the random gems keeps me going and helps mix up my reading.
I’ve had success by looking up my favorite books on goodreads and checking out the profiles of reviewers that also gave it 5 stars. If we have several favorites in common and it seems like we have similar taste, then I check out other books they gave 5 stars to.
Join a group in Facebook so we can talk and review about old and new books together.
I like using Literature Map – you enter the author’s name and similar authors will pop up. The closer in style and subject an author is to the starting point, the nearer the name.
Try it: [Literature Map](https://www.literature-map.com/)
Also check out [https://shepherd.com/](https://shepherd.com/)
Authors create short lists of their favourite books based on a theme relevant to them.
eg (taken at random).
* The best mystery books with a beautiful aesthetic;
* The best books that weave supernatural terror with real-world adversity
* The best books that make you the inmate of a sinister institution
* The best historical novels that feature bad-ass women
* The best books where different cultures mix in a fantastical world
Or search by genre / theme / topic
I use Goodreads, but a bit differently. I search for books I really like and then look for some reviews that are positive and from a user that reads a lot. I then check their bookshelves to see whether they have similar taste and follow them if they do. Works reasonably well
I go to the local university, find a literature or philosophu professor under the age of 45 and ask then for recommendations. I have a list so long I’ll likely never get through it, and not only is reading their job, but their passion. They likely do a lot of REALLY critical thinking concerning whatever reading they’re into.
(Under the age of 45 is no slight. I am just under the age of 45 and feel as though I identify more in taste with peers)
I’ve had luck on Meet New Books. It’s a site where you put in a book you like and get recommendations based on that. I use the books recommended as a starting point and poke around good reads from there
I usually ask people: what are you reading? Lately, I’ve been working my way through Pulitzer Prize fiction winners and finalists: read Monkey Boy, Immortal King Rao, Trust and now Demon Copperhead in 2024.